Box Score
BOULDER, Colo. — For one half, NCAA Division II Fort Lewis (0-1 overall) hung tough with Colorado (1-0), an NCAA Division I team that advanced to the NIT semifinals last year. The Skyhawks trailed by just 12 at intermission, 41-29, before the Buffs took control in the second half to cruise to an 85-57 win last night at the Coors Events Center.
The game was a homecoming for 16th year Skyhawk head coach
Bob Hofman, who played for the Buffs from 1969-74 and was an assistant coach at CU from 1981-83.
“In general I think it was a good experience for our team,” said Hofman. “There are just so many things that we can get better on and we can learn from.”
“This is a good basketball team,” second-year CU head coach Tad Boyle said during his postgame radio interview. “They're young, and they're learning, as are we.”
Matt Billups scored a career-high 23 points to lead FLC, while Matthew Mazarei added 10.
The Buffs had four players score in double digits, led by Austin Dufalt's 18-point, 10-rebound double-double. Andre Roberson had 15 rebounds and 13 points, Carlon Brown chipped in 13 points, and Sabatino Chen added 10.
Colorado shot 49.2 percent from the field (31 of 63) and 44.4 percent from behind the arc (four of nine), while limiting FLC to just 37.5 percent from the field (21 of 56) and 26.3 percent from three-point land (five of 19).
The Skyhawks failed to take advantage of free throw chances, making just 38.5 percent of their chances (10 of 26).
The Buffs also dominated the glass, outrebounding FLC by a 48-33 margin.
The meeting was just the third between CU and Fort Lewis and the first in 27 seasons. The Buffs previously won 84-68 in 1985 and 99-76 in 1976.
This year's meeting was set up by Skyhawk assistant basketball coach George Boedecker, a Boulder businessman who led fundraising efforts to build CU's new basketball practice facility, which was dedicated to him prior to the game.
For Hofman, just playing on the court named after his mentor, legendary CU coach Sox Walseth, was special.
“In fact, I was the one that got the idea to dedicate it (Sox Walseth Court) to him,” said Hofman. “For me, it was pretty cool because it was six decades of involvement with CU basketball. I played as a freshman in '69. I had a lot of memories, obviously, as a coach and player at CU. And then as a high school coach (at Fairview), we played on and coached on this court.”
Hofman will be gunning for his 400th collegiate victory at FLC's home opener against Northeastern State (Okla.) at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 19 in Whalen Gymnasium. The game is part of the George B. Boedecker Classic. Other Boedecker games include Northeastern State vs. Eastern New Mexico at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 18, and Northern New Mexico vs. Eastern New Mexico at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 19.
